


Skating toward love

by aumonstax



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Best Friends, First Love, M/M, skaters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 09:06:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19292614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aumonstax/pseuds/aumonstax
Summary: Changkyun is a lonely boy. His only friend is his skate. He spends his days in the skate park. One day he notices that he's not the only one that's using the ramp, unusually. He approaches the other and the two start to talk. Jooheon becomes his first love.( https://twitter.com/aumonstax/status/1084481068777041923 )





	Skating toward love

# 

#  **Skating toward love**

Changkyun always lived in his house, never moving to another one nor changing neighborhood. And so, he always used the same skate ramp to practice with his only friend: his skate. Well, obviously it wasn’t the same skate he used when he was younger, but that didn’t matter. The point was, in twenty years Changkyundidn’t have a single friend to play with, and so he spent his evenings in the skate park alone, training to become better and better at it and pass the time. He wasn’t a bad guy, but people didn’t like him because he had and intimidating aura around him and he also had some tattoos and piercings on his body, which in Korea (and in general in Asia) wasn’t something easily accepted. Plus, his neighborhood was full of conservative families that passed their prejudices to their sons, making them looking at him with fear and disgust in their eyes. With time, for Changkyun those evenings in the skate park alone became routine and he stopped trying to talk to other guys only to leave with a great and heavy sense of disappointment in his chest.

That autumn evening, as always, Changkyun wore his favorite hoodie (it was a simple black hoodie, but his mother gave it to him so Changkyun loved it a lot), a pair of dark jeans and some really comfortable sneakers. Walking to the skate park near his home with the skate under his arm, he felt something in the air. It was like a premonition, a feeling of positivity and hope. It felt like something was going to happen that day, something that could change his daily routine and his whole life. He didn’t know why he felt like that, nor what was that big changing, but he always believed in destiny so let fate take his course without questioning himself further.

The skate park was, as always, empty as a desert. It wasn’t a big space, but he used it all alone so it felt like his own reign, a place in which he was the only king. It was like some kind of strange castle made of ramps. Changkyun used to check on them every day just to be sure that they weren’t some obstacles on them (snack packaging brought there by the wind, some gravel, dangerous cracks or a little too much soil) that could turn the ramp in risky spot. He was very careful. After all, if he hurt himself by falling from the ramp no one would probably come to help him. That was his thought. Once he checked the place thoroughly, he took up the skate from the ground and checked that too, body and rollers. All was perfect, even the weather. It was autumn, but the air was warm and there wasn’t too much wind, the sun was shining brightly and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. With that positive feel in the chest, Changkyun put a foot on the skate and pushed on the ground with the other, letting the skate slide on the ramp and building up speed. He absolutely loved that. Being on the skate, feeling the fresh air running through his hair, moving his body a little to maintain balance, hearing the sound of the skate rollers on the ramp grow and grow until his ears were full of it, completely focused on it. He could skate with his eyes closed, if he wanted to. That place was so familiar for him that he could draw it on a paper sheet just by memory. Changkyun smiled automatically at the thought.

Then, something different from usual happened. Changkyun always had really good hearing sense, and that time he heard some kind of echo, a second skate producing sound on the ramp behind the one he was using. Well, that was a first. He was so surprised that he got suddenly distracted for a second and that hesitation brought him with his ass on the ground, moaning with embarrassment and cursing in a low voice. His skate flew in the air and Changkyun lost the sight of it. He heard the other skate stop, his sound vanishing in the air. Soon, a boy’s voice reached his ears. He seemed agitated, probably worried.

«You okay?»  
«Who the hell are you?»  
«Well, hello to you too!»

The stranger’s voice was a little surprised, not in a positive way. He ran there just to help that boy and ended up receiving that rude treatment. He surely wasn’t expecting that, so a little too much sarcasm slipped from his lips. He always used that as a defense mechanism. Changkyun immediately understood he was being rude and so, he raised his head to look in the other boy’s eyes and say sorry. The person that was in front of him was, indeed, a boy. He probably was around his same age, judging from his first appearance. He had big black eyes, almond-shaped; plump lips, heart-shaped; a black beanie covered his hair but Changkyun could see a little of them near his ears, and it seemed like the guy was a blondie; two very deep dimples decorated his cheeks; and he was wearing a black and white checked hoodie, a pair of ripped jeans and his shoes had the same texture of his hoodie. Changkyun was a hundred per cent sure that was the first time he met that guy. He surely would have remembered such a good face, otherwise.

«Sorry, you caught me off guard. No one ever comes here, I really thought I was alone.»  
«I didn’t want to startle you, sorry. I’m new in the neighborhood and when I saw these ramps, well… I thought I could try them a little.»  
«You’re new? That explains why I never saw you around here. I live here since I was a child and trust me, I remember every single face I see in the streets. When did you move here?»  
«Today. I just – are you thinking about staying there on the ground?»  
«What? … Oh.»

Only in that moment, Changkyun realized he was still sitting on the ground. “Shit, I’m ridiculous” he thought and started moving to stand up again. But the other boy offered him his hand, holding Changkyun’s skate in the other. Under one of the boy’s feet there was a skate. Changkyun gladly took his hand and stood up whispering a shy “thank you” and then lightly tapping his jeans to let the dirt fall from them. The other boy’s voice reached his ears again, this time with a friendly feel in it.

«I’m Jooheon, by the way. Nice to meet you.»  
«Changkyun. Nice to meet you too.»  
«So… You’re the only one around here that skates?»  
«Not anymore, it seems.»  
«You mind if I use this place, sometimes?»  
«You mind if we use it together?»

____________________

From that day on, Changkyun and Jooheon met in the skate park every day, spending the afternoon together and sometimes even the evening. Changkyun felt alive for the first time in his life: he had a friend, finally, and that friend shared with him his biggest passion. They gave advices to each other, helped the other to get up from the ground after a fall, laughed together and watched videos of Tony Hawk and other famous and skilled skateboarders on Youtube. Their friendship grew fast, but they didn’t mind.

It was a sunny Sunday when Changkyun didn’t show up at the skate park. Jooheon even arrived there earlier than usual, ending up waiting for his friend all alone, but with no result. An hour. Two. Three and half hours passed, spent by Jooheon skating and trying to call Changkyun on the phone. He didn’t pick up, not even for a second.

«What the hell happened to him?»

Jooheon surely was surprised. Changkyun never skipped one of their afternoons together, not even when he had a really bad fever in December, near the New Year’s Eve. In the end, Jooheon decided to jump on his own skate and go to Changkyun’s house. It wasn’t a very big house, but Jooheon thought it reflected well his friend’s personality: it was a small house, painted in a pastel yellow color, with a huge climbing plant that covered three quarters of one of the house’s external wall. That plant was beautiful. Jooheon thought it was just like Changkyun: just an ordinary plant, but extraordinarily beautiful when its flower blossomed. It was like an explosion of colors. When Jooheon arrived right in front of Changkyun’s house, that explosion immediately caught his attention and made him smile widely for a second. It was only a fast second, however, because he immediately remembered the reason why he was there: Changkyun didn’t show up at the skate park that day.

He put his skate under an armpit and walked until he was standing in front of the closed door. He felt anxious for some reason, even if he was repeating himself that nothing happened, that surely Changkyun had napped for a little too long and his alarm didn’t ring. Jooheon raised a hand and clicked on the door bell. No response. He tried again, and he got the same result. He picked his cellphone from the trousers’ pocket and tried to call Changkyun’s number again, then he tried with his house’s phone number. No one was home, it was clear to him because no one picked up and he could clearly hear the phone ringing inside the house, but no other sound reached his ears. Jooheon started to doubt his positive thoughts and began to worry for his friend. It wasn’t like him to vanish without warning him and sending him at least a message. Without thinking, he started pushing his finger on the door bell insistently, more and more times, so much that the noise became unbearable and the old lady next door got out of her house and yelled at him.

«WHAT THE HELL, BOY! What business have you with that family?!? This noise is making me crazy!»

Only that voice woke up Jooheon from his temporary trance. His cheeks became suddenly red and he bowed his head with a guilty expression on his face, answering to the lady in a shy voice.

«I-I’m sorry. I was just… I’m worried.»  
«You mean for the kid? Well he really did make a remarkable fall, this morning. But I warned him a million times… He always uses that skate and he skates so fast… It was meant to happen, one day or another.»  
«Sorry… Are you sayin’ he fell from the skate?»  
«Yeah, and really badly it seems. They brought him to the hospital. See? There’s still some blood there.»

Jooheon’s eyes followed the lady’s finger. She was pointing to a little darker spot on the street, right in front of her house. Jooheon looked at it with a blank expression, like he couldn’t believe what he heard and what he was seeing in that moment. His brain was focusing only on three words: really bad fall. He shook his head, let his skate fall on the ground and jumped on it immediately, leaving the place in a rush and heading to the hospital. THAT was the reason he didn’t show up, then. And if he couldn’t reach Jooheon even on his phone to tell him what happened, how bad was the situation? Jooheon felt the heart inside his chest beating like crazy, his breathe becoming unsteady and he couldn’t think straight anymore. He could only see that dark red spot on the asphalt. That was Changkyun’s blood.

When Jooheon arrived, the hospital was really packed. Apparently, a car and a bus crashed really badly not so far from there and there were a lot of injured people, maybe also some victims. In every room and even at the reception and in the corridors, people were shouting this or that, calling doctors or talking to the victims’ families with sadness but in a professional tone. Jooheon tried to talk with the nurse that was standing behind the reception’s desk, but she was so busy at the phone that didn’t really heard what Jooheon was saying to her. And maybe, that was what allowed the boy to visit Changkyun even if technically he wasn’t one of his relatives. When Jooheon asked her where Im Changkyun was for the first time, she initially didn’t even looked at him, but he insisted so much with a worried expression on his face, that the nurse probably believed he was Changkyun’s brother and in the end, she gave him a number. 145. Room 145. Jooheon ran so fast in the hallway that nearly passed that room. He stopped right in time and raised a fist, ready to knock on the door. His hand was only a few millimeters away when someone opened it.

«Oh! Are you… Jooheon, by chance?»

Changkyun’s mother was staring at Jooheon with a confused and surprised expression on her face. Jooheon never met Changkyun’s parents before, but he could clearly tell that woman was his mother because the resemblance with her son was extraordinary: she was practically the woman version of Changkyun, middle aged but still a very beautiful woman. Only her nose was different from her son’s. Jooheon’s eyes looked at her and then moved to Changkyun’s father face. Well, it was clear that Changkyun’s nose was a genetic inheritance from his father. The man spoke in a calm tone, his voice really low just like Changkyun’s.

«Jooheon, dear? You mean the kid who always skate with our son?»  
«Yes… That’s me. I’m Jooheon and it’s… It’s a pleasure for me, to finally meet you. I’m really grateful to Changkyun, he’s the only one that helped me since I moved in our neighborhood. I was waiting for him today. In the skate park, but…»

He paused. His gaze passed the two adults and Jooheon rapidly looked at the figure of his friend lying on the hospital bed.

«… The old lady told me he fell from the skate.»

He missed a huge part of his explanation, but Jooheon didn’t mind. He only wanted to see Changkyun and be by his side, so worried that he could be seriously injured that he was nearly crying. Changkyun’s parents looked at him and understood how deeply Jooheon was concerned, so they moved aside a little and told him to enter the room.

«He’s not conscious. It was a really bad fall, his head was bleeding a lot and we panicked. The doctor said that maybe it will take some days for him to wake up. I’m sure he will be happy to see you when he’ll regain consciousness, he always talks about you and cherish you a lot. He says you’re special to him.»

 

Changkyun’s mother had a really calm and gentle voice and Jooheon was about to ask her to stay and talk more, but he thought it would be a really stupid thing to do, so he stayed silent and the woman left the room with her husband, leaving Jooheon alone with his friend.

It was strange, for Jooheon, seeing Changkyun lying in that bed with a simple white pajama on. It might have seemed that he was simply sleeping if it weren't for his bandaged head and all those medical machines all around his bed. His face was a little swollen and he had several bruises and wounds on him. Jooheon sit on the chair beside his bed and looked at his with a worried expression. “It will take some days for him to wake up”, Changkyun’s mother said just a moment before. Some days. Jooheon suddenly became conscious of how much his days were influenced by Changkyun. They spent a lot of time together every day and for Jooheon was nearly impossible now to imagine what would be his everyday life without that boy. His hand unconsciously slipped on the bed’s sheets to reach one of Changkyun’s hands and touch it. His skin was warm and that feeling calmed Jooheon a little. He remained silent and never moved away from that chair until Changkyun’s parents opened the room’s door to let him know that visiting hours was ending and they had to leave the hospital.

____________________

From that day on, Jooheon never missed a chance to visit Changkyun at the hospital. His physical conditions were getting better and better but he didn’t wake up for some reason. Doctors couldn’t find a medical explanation for that but they continued to reassure Changkyun’s parents, saying to them that surely that sort of coma was only a temporary condition and their son would wake up soon. They always smiled at them and nodded, but Jooheon saw Changkyun’s mother cry between his husband’s armsmore than a couple times. Anyway, they always left Jooheon alone with their son for some time and during that time, the boy got into the habit of holding Changkyun’s hand in his and talk to him. Every day, he told him about his day and what he did during it, about how much he missed him and how he wasn’t skating since the day he had the accident, because he wanted to wait for him to wake up and skate together again. Day after day, Jooheon’s touch on Changkyun’s hand became sweeter, his voice and his words more and more gentle and caring. His feelings toward his friend started to change and he knew it well, because every time he had to leave the chair beside Changkyun’s bed, he felt his heart heavy. He loved Changkyun. It was clear to him now. He never loved anyone before, so that was a new emotion for Jooheon to feel. He was booth happy and sad, because Changkyun wasn’t waking up and every day he spent in that sort of coma, made Jooheon think that maybe he would never wake up again and he could never have the chance to tell him he loved him with all his heart.And so he decided to tell him anyway, after a week. That day, as usual, Jooheon went to the hospital and walked until he was standing in front of room 145. That number became so familiar for him that he started to see it everywhere, like an obsession. When Changkyun’s parents saw him, they greeted the boy like he was their own son. Day after day, they became attached to the boy and grew a great affection for him. After all, Jooheon really was the only one who came to visit Changkyun and he never skipped a day. The two adults left the boys alone as they always did when Jooheon came to visit, so the room became silent except for the little and regular beeps that came from the medical machines on Changkyun’s bed sides. Jooheon sit on the chair beside his friend’s bed and one of his hand slipped silently on the bed covers, reaching one of Changkyun’s hand and caressing it with care and affection.

 

«Ehy, warrior. How are you doing today, mh?»

Obviously, no answer came after that question. Jooheon’s face became a little bit sadder, even if he was expecting that. After all, he asked that question to Changkyun every day and the response was always the same. Silence. He lightly sighed and thrusted a thumb on Changkyun’s skin, forcing a little smile.

 

«You know… We’re really missing you, here. Your father is really close to rob you of your “Jooheon’s best friend” title. You better wake up soon, I might give in and elect him as my bff. But it would be a little boring, in that case. Don’t misunderstand me, your dad is awesome, but… He doesn’t know how to skate. I really would prefer to spend my time with you like we did before. Me, you, our skates and the skate ramps at the park. I clean them every day hoping you’ll use them with me soon, you know? I don’t want them to be ruined by the weather, or the animals… Or those really hateful little kids that arrived two days ago. Oh my God, Changkyun, you really have to wake up because I might kill them next time if they make their dogs poop on our ramps again. Can you believe it? I had to rub away shit from our ramps! C’mon, bro, don’t you see? I need a hand here, I can’t do this crap alone anymore! What if someone else moves in our neighborhood and starts to… I don’t know… Starts to skate by my side in your place? What if this new person starts to love me and I just go with the flow and give my heart to them instead of you?»

Jooheon paused, blinking with a confused expression at his own words. Did he just say that for real? Yes, he did. But Changkyun didn’t answer nor move, so Jooheon continued.

«I miss you, Changkyun. I don’t know what’s happening, I don’t know if you really hear me or not, but I can’t take this feeling for me anymore. We always tell each other everything, right? So… I can tell you this, too. I hope, at least. I… I love you, Changkyun. I mean, not only “love” as best friends do, I… REALLY love you. I need you by my side and I miss you like crazy. I can’t think about anything or anyone else but you. I don’t know how this feeling started, but I don’t really care. I only know I love you and I… I just… Please, Kyunnie, come back to me.»

Jooheon’s cheeks were covered in tears but the boy didn’t even realize that. He started crying without knowing nor caring. He was so desperate and sad, but at the same time Jooheon was happy. After all, he did it. He wanted to tell Changkyun he loved him and he did it, even if the other boy couldn’t answer him. Or at least, he thought so. While Jooheon was crying with his face buried in Changkyun’s shoulder, he felt Changkyun’s hand lightly squeeze his. For a few seconds, Jooheon thought he fell asleep at the hospital and was in the middle of a beautiful dream. He dreamed about that moment before, about those fingers gripping his and Changkyun’s eyelids slowly opening. But every time Jooheon opened his eyes, he always found out those things never happened. That time was different. Surprised by the sudden touch, Jooheon rose his head immediately and his big eyes landed on Changkyun’s face. The boy’s lips were slightly parted and his breathing was a little faster than usual. When Jooheon looked at his eyes, he noticed they were moving a little and after a second, his eyes met Changkyun’s eyes, now opened. Jooheon felt his heart beat like crazy and he stood up without even thinking about what he was doing, but he never left Changkyun’s hand, not even for a moment.

«KYUNNIE?!? Kyunnie, you okay?»  
«M-Me too…»

Changkyun’s voice was even lower than it was usually (and he had a really deep voice normally), hoarse because of the long slumber he fell in. Jooheon’s head didn’t process the meaning of those words, too confused and surprised and happy and in hype to think straight. He wasn’t dreaming, that time. He was sure about it. Changkyun finally woke up.

«What? What are you saying? Are you feeling good? Do you want me to call the doctor?»  
«Me too… I love you too.»

And then, Changkyun’s eyes closed again. Panicking, Jooheon clicked on the red button on the nightstand beside Changkyun’s bed and called nurses and doctors.

____________________

Another two weeks passed by. After that day, Changkyun woke up and slowly recovered from his injuries and from the confusion felt because of the coma. Jooheon continued visit him on a daily basis, firstly at the hospital and then also at home, when the boy was dismissed. He never talked again about his feelings and his confession and Changkyun didn’t mention it too. But Jooheon was happy anyway. Changkyun was recovering fast and he had his best friend by his side again. They didn’t skate yet (Changkyun couldn’t, not for the moment) but they still spent every evening at the park, chatting and playing videogames with their Nintendo Switch. On a totally normal evening, Jooheon and Changkyun were sitting on a bench under the biggest tree in the park, seeking for shelter against the hot sunlight of that day. It was an old oak tree and under its foliage, Changkyun started talking breaking the silence.

«Were you serious, that day?»  
«Mh? What? Which day?»  
«The day I woke up. I… I was serious, when I told you… You know, those words.»

Jooheon’s head tilted on the left. He always unconsciously did that gesture when he was recollecting his ideas and memories, putting them in order to clear his temporary confusion. Changkyun knew that and looked at him in silence, patiently waiting for him to realize what he just heard. Suddenly, Jooheon’s cheeks became red. The expression on his face was so funny that Changkyun couldn’t help but laugh a little, covering his own mouth with the back of a hand and talking with a slightly ironic tone.

«You realized, uh?»  
«Yeah, it took me… It took me a little, sorry. But you didn’t say anything until now, so I just… I assumed you didn’t know what you were saying that time. I thought you didn’t remember.»  
«I was waiting for you to… Talk about that again. I thought I wasn’t brave enough to open that topic again…»  
«But you did.»  
«… But I did, yeah.»  
«That time… It was the first time for me. I mean, I never told those words to anyone before.»  
«Me… Me neither.»  
«By the way… I still feel that way about you. I… I think I’m falling in love with you more and more each day…»  
«It’s the same for me, Joo. I really… I don’t even know how this thing happened, honestly. One day I woke up in my bed and I realized I just had a dream about us. About… Me and you kissing. Right here. And I just couldn’t deny to myself that I was falling for you.»  
«You and me… Kissing right here?»  
«Yeah, right here.»  
«… Wanna do that?»

In that moment Changkyun’s cheeks became red too, just like Jooheon’s. He remembered how he dreamed about that situation night after night, after that first time. But he didn’t think he could, one day, make that dream real. So Changkyun nodded a little, because he was at a loss of words and he couldn’t even whisper “yes” to agree to that question. And then Jooheon smiled brightly looking in his friend’s eyes, his dimples deepening and giving his face a cheerful and happy expression. Changkyun saw him move closer to him and he felt his heart burst in his chest. He didn’t move. He realized he couldn’t. He was so surprised and excited that every inch of his body wasn’t responding to any electrical impulse of his systems. He opened his mouth a little and after a moment, Jooheon’s lips were on his. They felt warm and even softer that he was expecting them to be. Changkyun slowly let his eyelids close and his fingers intertwine with Jooheon’s fingers. That was his first kiss and Jooheon made it memorable. It felt like heaven, to Changkyun, and it tasted like that. Jooheon tasted sweet and Changkyun’s mouth melted in the kiss, slowly responding to it and deepen it a little, their tongues touching and their breathing becoming synchronized. When their lips parted and their eyes opened again, Changkyun and Jooheon were smiling at each other. The latter was the first one to speak.

«Was it good? You know… It was the first time, for me.»  
«That was… Even better than the one I dreamed.»  
«Wanna try again?»  
«… Yes, please.»

Changkyunalways lived in his house, never moving to another one nor changing neighborhood. But after Jooheon came into his life, he didn’t feel alone ever again. He found a friend in him and his first love, too.


End file.
